Women's Issues, Peace, Creativity & Spirituality

Tag Archives: celebration

The Solstice is the shortest day of the year. It has been celebrated for centuries because as the wheel of the year turns, the power of the god weakens. Tomorrow the goddess takes charge and it will be daylight a little longer. We celebrate the return of the goddess because with her she brings light and warmth. As the wheel of the year slowly turns, she fills Mother Earth with lush, green, fragrant life. She indeed brings life back to earth. Seeds are planted and the people celebrate the joy of her warm sun. So be joyful and happy because the wheel continues to turn. Blessed be, Barbara

Here comes the dark. The winter solstice — marking the longest night and shortest day of the year — is Monday night.

The solstice occurs at the same instant everywhere on Earth. In the United States, it happens at 11:48 p.m. ET Monday (or 10:48 p.m. CT, 9:48 p.m. MT and 8:48 p.m. PT).

In Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, that means the solstice actually comes on Tuesday.

The winter solstice is the precise moment the Northern Hemisphere is tilted its farthest from the sun all year, and usually occurs near the day when there is the least amount of daylight and the most darkness.

One of the most famous solstice celebrations occurs at the ancient Stonehenge ruins in Wiltshire, England, where druids, pagans and other revelers gather each year to celebrate the event.

The solstice is the astronomical beginning of winter — the start of the coldest three months in the Northern Hemisphere — even though meteorologists view winter as starting Dec. 1. After the solstice, the days slowly start to get longer again.

It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where Dec. 21 marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of astronomical summer.

Winter’s shortest day, however, is typically not the coldest day of the year. There is a lag between the shortest day of the year and the coldest average temperatures for most spots in the USA.

This lag in temperature occurs because even though the amount of daylight is increasing, the Earth’s surface continues to lose more heat than it receives from the sun. In most locations across the country, the minimum daily temperature occurs around two or three weeks later, in early to mid-January.

For example, the coldest days in Boston, on average, are Jan. 17-26. In Chicago, it’s Jan. 17-20, and in Miami, it’s Jan. 2-22. At the end of January, more heat finally begins arriving than leaving, and days slowly start to warm up.

The Earth’s tilted axis causes the seasons. During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, the land north of the equator is tilted away from the sun, which lowers the amount of the sun’s energy warming the Northern Hemisphere.

And why is the Earth tilted? It’s probably the result of collisions with various proto-planets and other massive objects during the formation of the solar system billions of years ago, according to NASA. Just a bit unsettling to realize that the reason the Earth has the perfect temperature for life to form is a few random collisions with other space rocks a few eons ago.

Like this:

Sunday night was the beginning of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Many people know the story of the eight days — that there was only enough oil left in the Temple to light the Eternal Flame for a single night, not enough to burn for the eight days it would take to produce more oil. But the oil lasted until more could be made, and the Miracle of Lights is still celebrated by Jews across the world.

What people forget is why the Hebrews found their temple without oil. It had been ransacked by the Syrians, who were trying to oppress the Jews, to force them to forsake their God for the Syrians’ many tribal gods. Thousands of years ago, fighting in the Middle East to kill those who believed differently.

But the Jews survived. Their faith sustained them, and when they defeated the Syrians, their first thought was not revenge or retaliation, but rededication of their desecrated Temple; rededication to their God.

An interesting tale in this day and age, and perhaps more relevant than it has been in many years.

This month, the Artists4Peace are writing about celebrations of peace. The world has seen quite a few of them. The end of WWI was named Armistice Day; the celebration of the end of the first war that almost destroyed the world. WWII ended with a celebration of peace. The Berlin Wall came down and the world celebrated. I was at a weekend retreat of meditation and prayer when the Berlin Wall came down and there was much celebration. These were all huge celebrations of peace. It was as if the world had a second chance.

We had peace and then we lost it. Are there other ways to bring peace into being, to create peace out of the pain and suffering we inflict upon each other? Yes, but we must begin with ourselves and then move to our neighborhoods, communities and countries. Our world leaders must bring the peace we create and celebrate and multiply it until it encircles the globe.

Each day that we live and we work on peaceful behavior, we have cause for celebration. Peace is important whether it is on a grand scale or if it is small. Peace counts because each minute it exists it is a victory. If you have a peaceful day, that is huge in a world full of haters and violence; a world filled with greed, jealousy, and a constant desire for more.

Talking about peace, trying to create peace in our lives, recognizing peace when we see it in others all keeps the dialog flowing. The dialog of peace makes us all more receptive to the actions that we can do to bring about peace.

Peace is something that will not come unless we work for it and talk about it. Peace will come when someone else is more important than we are. Peace enters our lives when we have spoken harsh words to a person and after realizing what happened, we speak from our hearts and we speak from love.

Peace comes when no one acts out of malice, anger or hate. Peace comes when no one desires what another owns. Peace comes when countries don’t try to take land that isn’t theirs. Peace comes when one person does not shoot another. World leaders are needed to make peace. They are needed to put their citizens needs before their own egos and lusts.

We are all needed to bring peace into dialogue with spouses, children, neighbors, friends and strangers. Peace needs to never be far from our thoughts. It needs to be with us every day and every day we shall celebrate each moment of peace. When each moment is added up, there will be more and more reasons to celebrate Peace. Peace for us, for others and peace with God and from God. The five major content areas will know peace; Peace with God, with ourselves, relationships, society and our beautiful planet.

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Resigns

Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, shown during his medical examination after he fatally shot Michael Brown, has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, the AP reports. Wilson has been on administrative leave since the Aug. 9 shooting.

AP

Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown nearly four months ago, is resigning, according to his attorney.

Wilson’s resignation was announced Saturday by Neil Bruntrager, who says his client’s resignation is effective immediately. Wilson had been on administrative leave since Aug. 9.

In his resignation letter, Wilson writes that he hopes his resignation “will allow the community to heal.” The Ferguson Police Department has not confirmed that it has received this letter.

A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the shooting incident before deciding that the 28-year-old police officer would not be charged in the case. The confrontation and grand jury decision sparked continuing protests in the St. Louis suburb and across the country.

“I, Darren Wilson, hereby resign my commission as a police officer with the City of Ferguson effective immediately. I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow. For obvious reasons, I wanted to wait until the grand jury made their decision before I officially made my decision to resign. It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me. It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal. I would like to thank all of my supporters and fellow officers throughout this process.”

I am sharing this article with you because not only am I a feminist, but I am a humanist. I believe in certain actions that make up civilizations. I am not writing about the grand jury decision. I am writing about a man, it could be any man, who is capable of killing someone and going on with their life as they always did.

Darren Wilson spent his time between the murder of Michael Brown and the verdict moving from house to house. He feared for his life. He feared for his life…as Michael Brown must have at those last few moments of his life. Hands up. No longer running. He turned to face the officer who was chasing him. He was doing the right thing and he was shot in the head and killed for his effort.

Darren Wilson said he feared for his life. That seems very cowardly to me. Police officers are supposed to be men of rational thinking and bravery. This officer running after a kid who may have stolen some Cigarillos and walked in the street. Was Michael’s behavior without fault? No it wasn’t. He exhibited the behavior of a teenager with raging hormones. Mouthy, not listening to adults and breaking rules. I have four teenage grandchildren and I have stood toe to toe when they got angry.

But angry they were, for about 20 minutes then the kid I knew returned. Should they have been murdered for their actions? No. They get grounded and there is a talk about anger management.

Now, there is Officer Darren Wilson who got paid administrative leave for being a coward and shooting at Michael’s head knowing he was going to kill him. They say he got death threats and he had to move around for safety. He also got married. In a very quiet, under the radar ceremony, he married a fellow officer.

People protesting and grieving around the country and then even in the world. I have tried to imagine what Michael Brown’s parents must feel like but I can’t. Not really. I have lost a husband and it was the most horrible experience. I can’t even imagine the pain of losing a child. Both of his parents have done their best to mourn in public, to try to receive justice from our country and from the world.

They are so very courageous in my mind. They are not the only parents in America that are dealing with grief, sorrow, injustice and pain because their child has been shot in the bloom of his life.

Thousands if not millions of people are grieving in the world for their children who do not have justice. Officer Darren Wilson is celebrating his nuptials and starting a new life. He is not grieving and he has denied being remorseful. A civilized man would not be living in joy after taking a life, even in the call of duty. Shame on you Darren Wilson and shame on your bride for celebrating your joy when you are responsible for the pain of Michael’s family and friends.

Help Save a Child

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HANDS UP 4 JUSTICE APP

The Hands Up 4 Justice audio and video APP records encounters with law enforcement. This APP was created to video and audio record encounters with law enforcement for your safety. The best use of the APP once pulled over by the police, turn on the front facing camera and start recording..

Protests – Black Lives Matter

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KEEP EYES ON THE POLICE. NATIONAL POLICE VIOLENCE MAPPING TOOL.

Tool designed to help you hold Elected Officials accountable for police violence.

Hank Johnson Justice Fund

NO JUSTICE, NO MONEY
In the wake of the killings of unarmed black men and boys and the outrageous failure to prosecute their killers, Hank Johnson is introducing the Grand Jury Reform Act. This bill will prohibit the use of a grand jury when determining whether to prosecute a police officer in the event of a death. The status quo isn’t working. The evidence is clear. The people are demanding a real response from their elected leaders.

I am a retired widow with 4 kids and 9 grands. I worked as a nurse, and in Domestic Violence, and many non-profits, I was a donor health counselor for the American Red Cross and am a certified HIV counselor. I worked as a counselor and I have been a make-up artist and selling specialists for several American designers. I love life. I am very spiritual. I grew up in 50's and 60's and truly am the idealistic rebel which is the name of my blog. I love music, books, reading, Kindle, beauty. I am a photographer and an artist. I believe in making the world better one day at a time. I am now living in Asheville, NC.